Magic Tricks and Heartfelt Traps
by That-Cheeky-Bat
Summary: Jack's a struggling Magician renting an Elementary School's auditorium stage to practice his illusionist routine. Aster's the local Elementary school's janitor and has spent the last five months watching the eye catching act of Jack Frost. What forbidden acts are sure to ensue when Jack qualifies for a competition and manages to talk Aster into helping him?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Rise of the Guardians...you know the deal.

**A/N**: TV commercials...they're tricky bastards that make plots pop into my head. Gah stahp brain plz! I have shit I need to be doing not moar plots :(

WOW so many distractions while I'm trying to post this . I have the attention span of a goldfish right now LOL I _was_ editing Intricate Kingoms...then this happened thanks to the bloody TV.

Enjoy?

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Jack frowned, glaring at the thing in front of him and wondering how he was going to get it to work as he stood in the empty auditorium of the local Elementary School that he borrowed three times a week for practice. He glanced to the right, looking at a ragged poster that held the man he aspired to be since he had been a kid: Harry Houdini. He had been a master magician, a master illusionist and a hell of a stunt performer. He stood for everything Jack Overland thrived to be, which was what made him invent Jack Frost, Fairytale Magician with an act that based itself around cold elements…if he ever managed to _get_ to that part of his act. He always got stalled up, like now, as he fumbled through one of his many acts that he felt were basic skilled and usually required if one wanted a wide variety of gigs_. _But Jack hadn't hit it big yet, hell he was barely squeaking by and that was only due to his full time job he worked as a stocker at the local wholesale store. He was lucky he had managed to afford renting the local Elementary school's stage to practice his various tricks, traps and marvels - all of which required a naturally tricky nature - which he had, charisma - another thing he had in spades, and especially smooth and fluid movements that would make it easy to fool people into thinking the things he had held or displayed had disappeared right before their eyes.

Why had nobody caught onto the fact that these items were almost always up his sleeve yet?

Jack cleared his throat and focused back at the interlocking rings he'd always had a hard time with. He twisted, turned, pulled and when it couldn't get anymore demeaning as he struggled to unhook the interlocked hoops, he outright bit the metal and cursed it as he gripped it between his teeth. He huffed, tossing the rings aside and giving it a withering look that said, 'You win this round.' Jack sighed, turning from the rings he'd tossed aside and then continuing on with his mediocre act.

Jack plastered his stage smile on his face and began his routine. He started with the simple card trick where he withdrew one, showed it to the crowd, followed by him slipping it back into the deck, usually somewhere in the middle. As he shuffled the deck he wriggled his wrist just right to produce the same card he'd withdrew from the cuff of his sleeve and managed to snake it onto the top of the deck without losing his rhythm. He then grinned, flicking the top of the folded deck that he held in his left hand with his right hand's middle finger. He then held up the card to which he had snuck from his sleeve, pretending that he had just awed an entire crowd and giving a slight bow and smiling before he moved onto a series of other tricks that had him forgetting that he wasn't successful for just a moment as he became enraptured in his own act.

If nothing else, he was _sure_ he could keep a crowd entertained with how fun it was.

Aster pushed the bucket that rolled with the handle of his mop, the contents of the bucket sloshing about in a mess of gritty looking sludge pile of water that smelled of the many things he'd had to clean up over the course of the day. He had mopped up puke—flu season was upon them—various spilled sodas or waters and any liquid based meal like soup or overly soaked vegetables from the school's cafeteria. He was just barely finishing up this aspect of his job when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye as he passed by the school's auditorium to get to his janitorial closet. He stopped, seeing that irresistible young man up on stage again—as he had the past five months, but at first he had been outright annoyed with the bloke…now he couldn't decide whether he wanted to ring his neck or fuck him silly.

Aster stopped dead in his tracks and snuck into the auditorium to watch the kid work. He watched as the young man struggled with hoops that were interconnected and it took everything in his willpower not to laugh at the dill for biting into the metal piece like a loon before he watched the aspiring magician toss them aside with a look that threatened some semblance sharp pointy death. Aster leaned back into the seat, throwing his hands up behind his head to watch as the kid got ready to do his full act.

Aster watched as he did the first of many tricks, switching cards about—but this time he'd noticed that the kid had managed to sneak the card out of his sleeve without him noticing for once. He tilted his head, crossing his arms and wondering how much the kid practiced in a day. When Aster had first watched the kid five months ago he felt clumsy, sure of what he was doing, but clumsy. These days Aster had to admit, the kid he had first seen was a stumbling mess of nerves who fumbled frequently with his tricks but had a hell of a stage presence. Now? Now he was beginning to show some promise when it came to the tricks of his act.

Aster watched as the kid levered himself into the air with a sub-par pulley system, looking to be in need of an assistant in the _sore _way, before he dropped himself into a half-filled container of water. Water sloshed about as it hit the middle of his frame and he locked himself into the various restraints, using twists and turns, pressing various body parts against the sides of the container in order to get all the restraints to lock. Aster wondered if the kid kept the container half filled to avoid dying at the school from drowning, or if the school had flat out told him to never fill the container to the top since he seemed to work alone—and was a clumsy drongo.

Whatever the case it was _hard_ not to laugh at the bloke as he struggled from the restraints with a timer ticking on the side table. Aster snickered when the timer went off and the magician only had half of the restraints off. The groan that echoed from the kid's throat spoke volumes to his displeasure.

"I can _never_ do this right." He muttered from the stage, interrupted by the beeping of the alarm that informed him that time was up. Aster watched as the guy pitted a glare towards the timer next to him that beeped every second in a wince inducing screech. "I get it, I get it! Geez you're as annoying as my alarm clock!"

Aster finally couldn't hold in his amused laughter anymore and he barked out a sharp laugh. He threw his head back and let more sharp laughs echo from him as the magician froze solid in his container and then jumped, making his restraints jingle and clang against one another, when his striking blue eyes landed on Aster's. His restraint covered frame froze and Aster had a moment to realize the kid looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Aster gazed at those blue depths, enthralled with the man he'd been eyeballin' since the day he accepted this shitty job as a Janitor. Aster had never seen a man quite like this one, nor had he seen one who had as much chops as this kid did—of course there was a _small_ problem with Aster's infatuation. The magician had to be only eighteen if his looks were anything to go by, and Aster was nearing his thirties. Age gaps—the bane of his existence. It felt like ever since Aster realized he preferred men that he had ran into only young ones that peeked his interest—and don't get him wrong, he was looking for someone older or at least around his age. He just couldn't seem to find anyone, though.

Yet he ran into countless youngin's...but _this_ one just seemed to take the cake for him and made him want to toss his preferable age qualification aside.

Jack blinked at the janitor who had been cackling at him from the back like a bad mannered heckler. He sent a glare towards him offhandedly as he pried himself from the restraints and pulled himself from the container. He slapped his hand on the timer and ground his teeth, wondering where he'd slipped up in his routine and cursing how inept he seemed to be when it came to all things 'magic' based – which was nothing more than sleight of hand tricks, illusions, escape acts and tricking the eye. Then he pitted another glare towards the janitor in the back row, wondering how he had slipped into the auditorium so quietly. He then froze, staring at some of the most gorgeous green eyes he'd ever seen. They took his breath away for a split second before he cleared his throat.

"So...any good?" He shouted across the seats towards the janitor while giving a cocky grin.

"Ya got a _lot_ of practice ta go before ya get any betta!" He yelled back, his rugged Australian accent thick and making Jack's arms get goose bumps from how confident that voice felt along with the allure of an accent that wasn't heard frequently in the City. "And where's yer bloody assistant? Aren't ya s'pposed ta have some hourglass shaped sheila up there in a glitterin' red dress helpin' ya out?"

Jack huffed, outraged that this idiot didn't think he could handle his own tricks by himself…that and he couldn't afford, let alone _find_, someone to do that particular job. Jack turned, crossing his arms and ignoring how his light blue, dusted with what looked like frost ferns, suit squished as he folded his arms across his chest, the embarrassing sound of his soaked clothes carrying out across the auditorium. Jack pitted a glare towards the man in the back, ignoring how attractive he looked with a cocky, sure, smile adorning his chiseled and rugged features. The man returned that glare with a look that seemed to be assessing him, like the guy was mentally rating him for his looks.

Jack didn't know how he felt about that.

Aster gazed towards the magician known as Jack Frost, especially if the small stenciled outline colored haphazardly in on a cheap paper banner, was anything to go by. The first thing Aster noticed was his pale snow white hair that was, currently, a mop of tangled strands that stuck together from the water he'd sloshed onto his head while in the container. When Jack _wasn't_ trying to impersonate a wet rat his mop of hair always looked windswept and light as air. His face had those boy-ish good looks: big innocent blue eyes, a pert nose that looked as if it had a dusting of freckles across it and the cheeks, and a pair of thin lips that were wide set and held teeth so white and healthy looking Aster wondered if he used whitening strips on them. To top his already attractive good looks off Jack had a strong jaw line—not to mention he had skin so pale it looked flawless under the bright stage lights. Of course that was all off-set by Jack's small and light as a feather looking frame. Jack had long thin limbs, barely looked to break a hundred pounds in weight and only stood at about five foot eight.

And of course his costume was bloody well ridiculous. It was nothing more than a shoddy looking cast off tuxedo top in a light blue color and adorned with what _looked_ like Frost fern shapes, a bedraggled vest beneath and what appeared to be a stained white shirt below that. On his legs were a pair of simple black trousers that had obviously seen better days and the kid had shirked wearing shoes…let alone socks. Aster tilted his head with curiosity as he watched Jack stride across the stage and grab up a shoddy looking blue bow tie that clipped onto his neck and followed that up with a black top hat that had a white strip across the base of it.

In all, Jack's attire was lacking…and painful to look at.

Jack had decided to push on with the rest of his practice, even _with_ the heckler of a janitor sitting in the seats with a heated look to his eyes that made Jack's pulse pound. Jack gathered up his terrible bow tie and hat, adorning them and then grabbing up the small hanker chief. He walked back to the center of the stage and acted as if he was drawing his audience in followed by him turning the cloth around before he tucked it into his hand—slipping it down the cuff of his sleeve in the process. He then displayed empty hands and was thrown off by the sarcastic clapping in the back. Jack frowned towards the janitor before he continued on, plastering his stage smile on his face and then grabbing the edge of the extended cloth down his sleeve. He began pulling it from the hand he had clasped and had shoved the previous cloth into. He tugged furiously at the cloth as a multitude of shades sprang forth, his eyes wandering towards the janitor.

Jack stared at the man who was watching his act with a humored expression that spoke more towards pity than actual enjoyment. Jack stared towards him, noticing his grayish blue hair that was cut into a lazy faux hawk style. His skin was a tan color that made Jack swear that the guy seemed to ebb warmth, that skin containing the healthy glow that only came with being caressed by the sun through daily activity in it. The man's gorgeous eyes reminded him of Spring grass under the morning sun and glittered as if the dew on that grass was refracting the sunlight's rays and their beauty was offset by the ruggedly shaped eyebrows. His face was rectangular, sporting a square jaw with a buttoned nose and a pair of thin lips that opened to reveal teeth that were pleasant to look at, even if they did have a clean cut buck teeth. Then Jack's eyes scoped out the janitor's body in his surprisingly clean cut shirt that was tucked into a pair of pressed pants that held a belt in the loops. He wore the clean, navy blue in color, uniform well and when he stood—the key ring at his hip jingling—Jack saw him walking that strong and toned frame towards the exit. Jack blinked stupidly, thinking the janitor had tired of his show and was walking out on him, until he realized the Principle had stepped into the auditorium with a frown adorning her face.

"Mr. Bunnymund, one of the students has thrown up in the boy's restroom by room four thirteen. Please see to it that it gets cleaned up." She stated, her five foot nine slight frame giving Jack an idea of the janitor—with the last name of Bunnymund—had to stand at about six foot one.

"Yes ma'am, Ah'll get right on it." Aster replied, making sure to follow the Principle from the auditorium and giving Jack a show as he opened the heavy door for the Principle, flexing his muscles and hearing Jack choke on stage. Aster turned back towards Jack Frost and, with a shit eatin' grin plastered to his face said, "Same time tomorrow then?"

Jack's eyes, he didn't think, could get any wider—but he was proven wrong as Jack's eyes widened in disbelief. Aster chuckled, letting the auditorium door close before the Principle smirked up towards him. Aster grinned. "What? He's not _that_ bad."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's just say if _that_ one ever succeeded then the world would be in for a whole lot of brand new tricks." She then halted and turned, giving a quick grin. "But he is fun to watch, even when he _is_ messing up."

Aster nodded his agreement, gripping the mop's handle that he had discarded by the entrance of the auditorium and pushing it through the hallway to go mop up yet another kid's throw up—continuing his day with thoughts of Jack on his mind.

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...and I think that's good enough for a first Chapter. New ideas are fun!


	2. Chapter 2

The Beginnings of Something Beautiful

Jack only had this last aisle to finish up, hating that he had to stock while the damn store was open but relieved that this section of the store hadn't been opened to the public yet. He shuffled about in the back, slapping price tags on things as he stocked them within the right area and huffing out a heavy breath when he finished with his current stockpile of goods - only to realize that he wasn't halfway done yet. His shoulders slumped as he grabbed the trolley and pushed it into the back of the store. He grabbed up the goods he needed, walked them back, and repeated the process that had been engrained into his limbs without an ounce of thought - all the while thinking about that _annoying_ janitor yesterday.

Jack bristled thinking about him, grinding his teeth in irritation as he remembered all those mixed looks he kept getting from the guy. He remembered the looks of humiliation that were more _for_ Jack than _towards_ him, which was probably the most annoying bit that he remembered. He thought about the pity on his face as Jack struggled to do things that normally an assistant would assist with, or how he'd mess up one of his tricks in one of the most embarrassing ways possible. Then Jack felt his cheeks flush and he dropped the box he'd been holding clumsily when he thought about those heated stares that he'd caught out of his peripheral vision. He gulped, kneeling down and picking up the box - slapping a second price tag on it by accident and shrugging it off as he slipped it back onto its shelf - distracted by trying to wrap his thoughts around the janitor's heated stare.

Did he _like_ him? Was he _interested_? Or was he just trying to ruffle his feathers by getting him hot and bothered on stage while he practiced? Jack frowned, realizing it could be all of the above - or none. Jack sighed, rubbing his forehead in irritation and setting away to working contently again, desperately trying to take his mind off the janitor who had slowly sparked his interests.

Aster, in the mean time, had been busy cleaning up yet another pile of puke from the floor, eager to get done for the day and all the while thinking about what he wanted for dinner tonight. He was one of _those_ people. Someone who could watch ER based reality shows that dealt with videos of people's internal organs being rearranged and he could _still_ eat a hearty meal unbothered. It had freaked his last ex boyfriend out to the point where the guy had thought he was some kind of serial killer. The simple fact of the matter was, it just didn't bother him.

He gripped the edge of the mop bucket and dumped it into the small shower in the janitorial closet that held a drain and dug out his phone. He dialed up his old time family friend Nicholas St. North and held the phone to his ear as it rang three times before a boisterous voice boomed out, "Aster! Bunny! Is good to hear from you!"

Aster grinned, relieved to hear North's booming voice and clearing his throat. "North, mate, Ah know it's freezin' outside but how about a barbie? Ah'll pick up some kabobs - either that or Ah can pick up the ingredients for 'em - and some beers, bring 'em ta yer place and we can have ourselves a makeshift family dinner. How's that sound?"

"Ah! Sounds like good idea." North's voice muted for a moment and Aster heard Tooth's voice in the background followed by North asking her something for clarification. He heard North shuffling things around on his end before he cleared his throat. "Tooth wants you to pick up ingredients. Says in store kabobs are lacking."

"A'right, works fer me." Aster stated, going through a few more details before he hung up after saying goodbye.

He clocked out of work, locked up the school and headed to his Range Rover. He picked up cubed steaks, purple and white onions, mushrooms, red and green bell peppers and followed that all up with the wooden skewers. He grabbed up a box of Stella's, grabbed a few home-related items he'd been needing of late and finally tossed the bags into the back of his car after peeling off his shirt and untucking his white crew neck undershirt. He climbed back into his car and headed for North's, parking in front of the small, single story two bedroom home and knocked on the door as he shivered from the fifty degree weather outside. North welcomed him in, followed quickly by each of them making a certain number of kabobs followed by Aster borrowing one of North's overly large jackets in order to stand outside comfortably in the cold, snow laden, outside. He propped his beer in the snow and immediately set away to chatting with North as Tooth opened the kitchen window to hear them and talk to them as she made a salad and made mashed potatoes.

Jack yawned and walked out of the store an hour later, stretching his hands over his head and yawning widely. He reached his hand into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his keys and phone, eyebrows raising when he saw that North had called him. He had left a voicemail, asking Jack to drop by and check up on some of his newer props that he'd been working on for Jack's magic show. He climbed into his car, driving up to the small home and climbing from the car. He froze when he heard talking coming from the backyard, North saying something before an affronted - all too familiar - Australian clad voice snarked a response. Jack sighed, shoulders slumping as he realized there may never be an escape from his janitor heckler.

Was that some curse he wasn't aware of for the performing arts? Or was he just _that_ unlucky?

Jack steps through the backyard's fence, knowing full well he was welcome to take that route and waving to Tooth when she spotted him through the kitchen window before he clambered up the back porch's steps. North turned upon seeing Tooth lift her hand and his dark bushy brows rose when he faced Jack, smiling brightly and clasping Jack up into a tight hug.

"Jack! Is good you came by. I have props done for you and you get dinner!" North stated, turning and flashing kabobs on the BBQ. Jack tilted his head with a smirk before he glared towards the janitor who looked absolutely pleased at seeing him there. "Jack this here is Aster, we call him Bunny at times - family nickname."

"Of course." Jack murmured, narrowing his eyes when the janitor held out his hand. "I already know him, but I only caught his last name."

"Well, what can ya do?" Aster replied, ever glad to his _his_ magician and thrilling when Jack took his hand. "Ah had ta clean up puke, and had been doing it all day that afternoon. Ah didn't think shakin' yer hand with scummy hands was a good first impression."

"Well laughing at my act sure as hell isn't." Jack muttered bitterly. He tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned forward, trying for threatening. "I'd have taken the damn handshake over _your_ laughter."

Aster watched as Jack was taken aback when he pushed off from the railing of the porch that he'd been leaning on, looming over Jack with cocky smirk adorning his face as he replied with, "Well then next time Ah guess Ah'll just have ta _fix_ that."

Jack took a step back when the janitor crossed his arms triumphantly, leaning back and grabbing up his beer and taking a swig of it again. Jack watched as he shook the bottle after lowering it before he turned and dropped it with a clinking of glass on glass into the recycle bin. He then watched as Aster nabbed up another beer, twisted the cap off with his bare hand, discarded the top in the trash can next to the recycle and then leaned forward and chuckling as he poured a portion of his recently opened beer over the kabobs. Jack made a face of disgust, having never seen someone do that before and wincing at the flames that licked up from the bottom of the BBQ's pit. Jack watched as North griped at Aster about doing that, claiming it was going to ruin the kabobs. All the while Jack saw Tooth burst out laughing inside as she stirred something up.

"Trust me, beer battered anythin' tastes three times betta' than ya think." Aster admitted with a grin that had Jack starting for a moment - especially because it was directed towards him and held a healthy teasing tone to it.

Jack gulped, nodding and replying with something neutral. "I'll take your word for it."

Aster grinned, leaning back and taking another swig of his beer. It hit all the right spots, and his stomach was feeling fairly empty after spending all day without even a lunch break due to how much cleaning he had to do around the campus. That _and_ he did some meager gardening as well for the school. Finally, after twenty minutes of North and Aster talking outside while Tooth dragged Jack inside to help set the table, the kabobs were cooked and ready. They sat down at North and Tooth's small dinner table, Aster feeling right at home and beginning to set his plate. He glanced over to Jack who looked shy and awkward at the table before Aster sent him a warm smile and nabbed up his plate. He scooped up veggies, potatoes and handed Jack about three kabobs, setting the plate in front of him.

"Dig in Frostbite. Yer going ta need it fer yer magic tricks." He told him with a quick grin, followed by him taking three kabobs himself.

"Uh...thanks." Jack murmured, looking nervously at the food before he picked up his fork and set away to eating the food.

Aster nodded as the skinny kid soon started to eat. Granted it lacked a few table manners, but it was better than him not eating at all.

It made Aster uncomfortable when people didn't eat around him...but then again most people didn't come from a family of six and had to inhale their food before it magically disappeared. Aster was, of course, the first done. He stood, going to the sink and cleaning his plate of any remaining scraps of food and watching as North and Jack took off down the hall towards the garage. Aster stuck around with Tooth to help clean up, glancing towards the garage and hearing Jack's chuckle.

Jack opened up a little more as North led him into the garage. He turned his head to take in the thing in front of him, unsure what he was seeing.

"Uhh...North? What ah...what is that?" Jack asked, trying not to chuckle at the bright red looking paneled wall.

"Is in prototype stage. Not done yet." North stated with a quick chuckle before he led Jack forward and flashed some of the more classic magician pieces. "This is what I wanted to show you."

Jack tilted his head, surprised to see a new inventive look towards one of the classic 'Sawing a woman in half' trick. He stepped forward and examined the box, realizing that North had managed to replicate what looked to be an ice block on the front. Jack found one of the feet holes, surprised to see his hand reflecting in the frosted over, hazy front and turning to North with wide eyes.

"How is _this_ supposed to work?" Jack asked, waving his hand back and forth inside the box and frowning. "Everybody can _see_ inside, aren't they _not_ supposed to be able to see that?"

North chuckled, stepping forward and going to the back. He pushed a portion of the back of the box in and Jack froze when his hand - still moving up and down inside - was currently frozen on the front. He retracted his hand, stepping in front and rubbing his jaw in thought. North chuckled, going to the end of the box and opening a compartment, followed by him pushing motorized feet through the end and grinning.

"Is in beginning stages of being worked out, but so far I believe this will be good trick for you to do. Nobody has done 'Ice Box' before, and _you_ claim to be Jack Frost." North quirked an eyebrow, his blue gaze darting to the door when a snort sounded out behind them.

"Please, North, this galah couldn't be Jack Frost if he tried - and he's doing _exactly_ that." Jack frowned at Aster as he stepped into the garage and looped around the 'Ice Box' and chuckled when the feet wriggled on their own. "Seriously, how the bloody hell are ya going ta get this ta work without an assistant doing it from the inside? Ya got the basics worked out with the morotized feet, which Ah'm assuming yer working on the legs fer, but if ya pull someone from the audience fer this they're going ta have the entire illusion ruined fer 'em."

"Aster, is prototype stage! Will be ready when Jack gets assistant." North griped towards him, crossing his arms and then rolling them before he waved for Jack to follow him to another piece he'd been working on. "This is called 'Staff of Wind'."

Aster turned, watching as Jack took the gnarled wooden staff from North's hand and watching as blue, icy looking, frost ferns danced out from wherever Jack's hands touched. He tilted his head, straightening and tapping his hand onto the staff. He watched as nothing happened before he cocked a brow and settled a firm grip onto the staff that felt eerily cold. He removed his hand soon as those fern like shapes started appearing again and the answer clicked into his mind.

"Heat sensitive." Aster murmured, to which North whooped in glee and nodded.

"Is just long enough delay where someone touching it for mere moment won't cause anything to show - but for magician who must interact with audience as mood is set, is perfect! Dah!" North asked, turning a grin to them both.

Jack nodded, chuckling with the staff and stabbing it towards Aster's chest. "Hey 'roo, why don't you be my assistant? You seem pretty up on these things."

Aster scoffed and rolled his eyes, smacking the edge of the staff that kept jabbing itself into his chest away with a rolling of his eyes and a snort. "Not in yer bloody dreams. Ah already have a shit job, Ah don't need ta be yer shit assistant too."

Jack frowned, following North and going through the next portion of the 'Staff of Wind' trick. He chuckled as North helped him into a harness, followed by him hooking up translucent strings that attached to the harness. He was hefted up by North, laughing like a kid in a candy store as he swung about, impersonating a leaf on the wind as he circled as far as he could to test out the string's give. Jack then crossed his arms and smirked cockily down towards Aster who merely raised a brow and took a finishing sip of his beer - ever unimpressed.

"Ya still need that assistant ta help ya with all this." Aster muttered dryly. "And Ah reckon ya don't have any takers aside from North here, and Ah _really_ doubt ya'll get anywhere with North wearing a glittering red dress."

Jack, at first, frowned towards him before Aster's words sank in along with the image of North in a sparkling red dress. He switched between disgusted sounds, snorting out laughter and crying from the look of North's face as he pitted a withering expression towards Aster. Jack was lowered to his feet, Aster leaning against the edge of North's 'workshop' table and glancing to the right. Jack's eyes wen that way and he saw Aster push up from the edge of the desk and pluck one of Jack's soon to be costume pieces up from the shelf. Aster cocked a quizzical brown at the snowflake covered shirt and made a face.

"Yer kiddin'." He deadpanned.

"Nope, found that for a dollar at Goodwill." Jack stated, grabbing it from his hands and tossing it into the box that held his other pieces he'd found from various thrift store trips. "Listen, I have to deal with what I can find right now unless I somehow manage to make it big. So, I'd appreciate it if you quit being a snarky asshole and instead offer some friggin _helpful_ advice instead."

Jack glared towards Aster. He sucked in a sharp breath when Aster crossed his arms and settled a stern look to him.

"Fine, but if Ah'm going ta give ya _helpful_ advice it's going ta be by yer bloody side - and Ah'm _not_ dressin' up. Ah may be gay but Ah'm not a bloody cross dresser." Aster griped, turning to the things in North's workshop and frowning. "Now, let's start from the bloody beginning."

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Responses:

**Shanatic**: 'Murica TV. Now if only it wasn't pawn stars and reality TV shows all the bloody time.

**Guest**: You're hitting the nail on the head there. This story's about Jack climbing to the top, adding some 'icy' twists to some old tricks and even inventing something completely new :)

**Good Witch of Babble**: It's fun to write every so often. I had the urge to do it right now so I plotted it on a piece of sticky note paper and wrote it out now when I realized I had a computer!

**Jimbob Delilah**: 'Course I always miss ya! Unfortunately I have _many_ stories in my flash drive that get like 5 chapters in and then just stop... Anyways, here's moar!

**yey**: Yea I thought about how I could incorporate Jack Frost as a magician. I can't wait to get to Aster's bit...I might die of laughter trying to write that bit.

**Sticksandstones**: I got this idea from American TV show! It caught my attention because I heard the ever snarky Ricky Gervaise being tricked by a magician and I was running off no sleep so it sounded like a brilliant idea!


	3. Chapter 3

Wrote this to: The Real McKenzies - Poor Decisions.

Also I'm drinking dark chocolate hot coco while I wrote this too...Man I need to invest in this stuff it's so rich and delicious!

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First Practice.

Jack was back to stocking shelves again and was still in a state of shock over what had just happened last night. He couldn't quite wrap his head around what _had_ happened. The janitor, Aster, had _willingly_ stepped up to act as _his_ assistant—and for _free_ to boot!

Jack also wondered just how Aster _knew_ North and Tooth; in fact the guy seemed to be practically part of their family. Aster acted as if he _belonged_ in their home and didn't seem bothered at all by visiting them.

But the most startling thing had been the damned switch from Aster outright rejecting North's suggestion to help Jack with his routine to seemingly turning on a dime and offer his help.

He was a bit stunned, to be frank. Jack halted in his actions for a five second breather and was honestly baffled when it came to Aster. He just couldn't make sense of the man. He constantly made snarky comments, was _confusing_ in his temperament changes that fluctuated seemingly at random, all the while he was snarky and held a constant 'dry' air about his tone one moment and then turn oddly lewd and flirty the next. Not to mention he seemed to have a knack for constantly having the ability to show up everywhere Jack went.

Jack sucked in a sharp breath and scratched the back of his head as he pondered over the rest of last night. It had been interesting, to say the least, as he watched Aster interact with North and Tooth both as they viewed, picked and prodded at North's inventions to adjust them to Jack's act better. Aster himself seemed to have helpful hints and had a hell of a knack for painting, apparently. In fact when Jack had left Aster had sat down next to North by his desk with a tube of acrylic paint and a paintbrush, the two drinking beers and briefly exchanging small bits of conversations as Aster sat to paint something while North set away to chipping away at a chunk of glass that looked like ice.

Jack crossed his arms, cocked his hip and glared at the rows of packaged materials that he had put there over the course of his shift. Honestly, he didn't mind doing this stocking job, but he'd _much_ rather be practicing his act or coming up with a new routine for his act. He was tired of having to practice everything in his head only for it to falter soon as it got to the actual _physical_ part of the practicing.

Of course it would be great help to have someone actually assisting with that—and it looked like he was going to get just that too. However tonight was going to be an interesting night as Jack figured Aster out while at the same time Aster was undoubtedly going to be feeling Jack out as well. Jack let out a hot breath of air through his nose and set back to work, an hour to burn before he could head to the elementary school's auditorium.

Aster on the other hand was finishing up his own shift at the elementary school. He was close to finishing up his last bit of cleaning for the day and was thirty minutes from doing his favorite part of his job: gardening. He also wanted to carry and roll the new prop for Jack's act into the auditorium and show him, while gathering his opinion, on the trunk he had painted last night in a snow kissed landscape. He was also slightly giddy about telling Jack how he could _finally_ encompass snow into his routine.

Aster cracked a light smile, never admitting to the fact that he was absolutely looking forward to helping Jack with his act, even if he _was_ severely stricken with the kid. In fact after putting on a hell of a front that had probably caused him to go down a few pegs in Jack's book, Aster couldn't help but be relieved that Jack had accepted—or more like egged—Aster's help out of him. It was just a benefit that Aster got to be around the man he was crushing on, hard.

Aster snorted with that thought, realizing he was acting like a teenager when it came to his attraction to Jack—but he also couldn't help it. Jack was just so…_real_, he was himself all the time and wasn't afraid to show it and sure as hell was persistent. Not to mention that damn smile of his knocked the wind from Aster's lungs every time he saw it, especially when it reached those baby blues of his.

Aster gave his head a sharp shake and finished giving the toilet in front of him a quick scrubbing and straightened from his knelt position with a grunt. He hurried back to his janitorial closet and tucked his cleaning cart away before he headed outside to his Jeep. He clambered into the back of it and tugged the trunk he had painted from the confines of the back, grunting as he lifted it into the air before he set it on the ground, tilting it and pulling the legs down to start rolling it towards the auditorium. He reached the door that specifically lead to the auditorium and opened it, heading into the hallway and unlocking the auditorium as well. He pushed the trunk down the center row and then hefted the trunk up onto the stage.

Aster then left the trunk on the stage and headed back outside to tend to a small bit of gardening in the kid's sectioned off area. He had promised one or two of them to make sure their plants were all doing well, that and he tended to like gardening in general as well. He'd been blessed with a green thumb which he had adopted from his mother and had spent countless hours outside with her helping as she gardened and learning everything there was to caring for plants.

When Aster finished checking over the plants for the children he straightened and tugged off his work shirt, wiping his forehead with the rough material and turning in time to see Jack staring his direction with a deer in headlights expression before he jerked back towards his beat up Honda Accord in a powder blue with a black bumper and a crumpled dent on the back right fender. Aster smirked, going to Jack and crossing his arms—making damn sure to flex his biceps since they were straining against the sleeves of his undershirt.

"A'right ya larrikin, what've ya got fer us ta practice today?" Aster asked him, sidling up next to Jack and propping his hands onto the popped open trunk lid and gazing at the contents within the back of Jack's car. Aster snorted out a laugh, seeing a spare pair of clothes tucked into the right corner of the trunk adorned with what looked like a toiletry bag. "Mate, why've ya got clothes and toiletry bag in yer back trunk?"

Jack frowned, letting out a sigh. "Just in case." He glanced to Jack who grinned up at him wickedly for a moment. "I had _one_ night where I had to make a quick getaway and managed to end up running nearly naked through the streets. Never again."

Aster barked out a laugh. "What? Ah need ta hear _this_ story."

Jack chuckled, warming inside soon as he realized Aster was being fairly nice today instead of his usual snarky self. He wondered if it had something to do with the fact that he was trying to be pleasant in order to make this entire situation a little easier on both of them.

"I'll only tell you _that_ story if you tell me how you know North and Tooth so well." Jack explained in return, shuffling through the contents of his trunk and digging up his rings and tugging out some cotton sheets he had found for cheap at the thrift store on the way over here after work. "Alright, that's all I've got, the rest is stored inside."

Aster grunted his response, closing the trunk and leading Jack towards the auditorium. "Ah know North and Tooth through mah mum and da." Aster stated from next to Jack, who glanced up towards the janitor with the _amazingly_ toned arms that sported tribal-like tattoos on his biceps and forearms. "Hell, North and Tooth introduced mah mum and da. At the moment they're the closets two Ah've got ta family till Ah can get enough ta visit mum again."

"What about your dad?" Jack asked, stepped through the door when Aster opened it.

"He died awhile back. Smokin' finally got the better of him." Aster's tone cracked for a brief moment. Jack glanced up again and saw a brief shimmering of tears on the edge of Aster's eyes before he heard Aster clear his throat and saw him glance down towards Jack with a smirk. "As fer the _rest_ of mah family, Lilly and Sarah are over in England studying ta be Doctors. Mike and Jake are workin' contruction in Australia and are just down the way from mum. Then there's the twins Jon and Celia who are in Scotland and Ireland doing Physics and Mathematics degrees."

Jack's brows rose to his hairline in surprise. "Woah…that's, what, six siblings?"

Aster nodded with a quick grin. "Ya, the lot of 'em are always enquiring about me and Ah believe Celia is tryin' ta work out a month ta visit. 'Course Ah can't say no ta mah youngest sister, even if she _is_ a right annoyance."

Jack laughed. "If it makes you feel any better I love my sister too, but she's _really _annoying."

Aster laughed, stepping up the stairs and watching as Jack's mouth gaped open at the trunk. Jack dumped the things in his arms unceremoniously onto the spare table on the stage and literally bounded over to the trunk. Aster grinned, puffing himself up in pride as he watched Jack 'ohh' and 'awe' over his paint job. After answering Jack's questions as to how he knew _how_ to paint, the exasperation in Aster's tone evident, before he asked Jack to go through the parts of routine that he could manage alone as Aster rolled out a few of the props that Jack needed his help with—the most prominent was the tank that still held some water.

"A'right." Aster crossed his arms and watched as Jack struggled with the rings again before he tossed them aside with an exasperated look. "Maybe ya should cut those from yer act if ya can't do 'em."

Jack huffed. "I can't seem to figure this damn trick out!"

Aster beckoned for the rings, examined them and noticed that though they were solidly built there were small breaks between them that allowed for the magician to slip them through one another with _some_ difficulty. Aster narrowed his eyes, setting away to messing about with them before he grinned over to Jack, mimicked every move he did and added in a few fluid martial arts influenced movements and tugged the rings apart and stuck them back together again. He watched as Jack at first grinned at the trick before he crossed his arms and frowned.

"I hate you." Jack muttered, snapping the rings away from Aster and tossing them aside.

Aster laughed and beckoned Jack over to the tank. "A'right, let's to this."

Jack stood still and helped with a few of the restraints before he could no longer move anymore. Before Aster went any further he hefted Jack into the air and set about finishing up the restraints before he lowered Jack into the tank—making sure to ask Jack _how_ he was getting out of each restraint before he settled Jack into the tank. Aster stepped to the timer, set it for about five minutes and turned to Jack.

"Ready?" He asked, watching as Jack gave a sharp nod.

"Three. Two. One. Go!" Aster shouted, hitting the timer button and carrying it with him as he started pacing about the tank.

Jack had sucked in a calming breath before he had settled into the tank, always nervous of anything water related from a long time phobia. He'd nearly drowned when he was thirteen in the local City's pond during the Winter season, but due to his unwavering _want_ to be a successful magician he'd learned to push his phobia away until _after_ he'd finished the trick.

When he heard Aster shout 'Go!' he set away to his wriggling. Each restraint and handcuff held a certain gimmick based lock that, when wriggled right, either opened easily or just plain released itself. With the handcuffs off Jack let them fall to the bottom of the tank, hearing Aster yell out a 'Four minutes!'. Jack nodded and continued prying himself from his next restraint, the chains. He shifted his shoulders back and forth, finding the one link that gave way and wriggling from the chains before he set away to the leather straps of the straight jacket. _This_ was harder to escape from because it had little to no give when wet. It was here he stalled up for the remainder of the time limit, only _barely_ getting free of the straight jacket when the timer beeped at him.

Jack huffed in defeat, groaning out, "I _hate_ this damn jacket."

Aster tapped a finger on the tank, meeting Jack's gaze and shaking his head. "Hey mate, don't give up hope yea? Ya got _way_ further with mah help than ya did previously—_way_ further, in fact Ah don't think ya even got past the bloody chains last time. Ya want out?"

Jack nodded, beginning to feel his throat tighten as nerves set in from the water around him. "Please."

Aster hefted Jack from the tank, handing him the towel and watching as Jack's form shook lightly. He nodded his head towards Jack with a raised brow.

"Why're ya shakin'?"

"Oh, just a phobia that I've only recently gotten close to overcoming." Jack waved it off. "I almost drowned at the Frozen Lake here in the City."

Jack watched as Aster's brows rose and he pushed from his spot he was leaning against and pointed a finger across his chest, inadvertently drawing Jack's eyes to the muscles below his shirt as they bunched and rippled from the movement, before drawing his attention with a heated, "Ya plan on getting' inta that tank, performing _that_ routine with a _full_ tank and ya have a bloody _phobia_ of water? Were ya dropped on yer head when ya were a kid?"

Jack snorted out a laugh and nodded. "Yep, pretty much."

Aster then leaned back again, showing how impressed he was as he raised his brows and gave a sharp nod. "Ya got chops."

Jack nudged Aster with his elbow, too engrossed in the moment to watch his tongue as he said, "And I've got a hell of an assistant—and he's super hot too." Jack realized his mistake the second that left his lips and a blush raked up his face as he cleared his throat. "I mean, uh, er…fuck."

Aster grinned smugly down towards Jack, giving him a wink before he stepped forward and settled back into business, distracting Jack by making him show a few more of his solo act tricks followed by both of them settling in and discussing how Jack could introduce snow into his shows.

"Its some kind of powder and its shot from a fan-like machine. Instead of usin' the classic cloths like other magicians do ya could use snow ta cover yerself as ya do the tricks. We could make it so that throughout the show there's a light driftin' of it and whenever we're about ta do one of yer acts then we up the output and essentially 'white out' the stage intermittently." Aster showed Jack what he was talking about on his cell phone, showing him the Youtube video of a snow blower.

Jack's head nodded enthusiastically. "That's…brilliant."

Aster and Jack grinned towards one another, both of them clearing their throats and glancing away with a sheepish grin on each face. Then Aster reached his hand out and gripped Jack's forearm lightly. Jack glanced up to him, cheeks bright red.

"Yer goin' ta make a great magician when ya clean up yer routine a bit more. Ah'd say another few months of practicin' with me as yer assistant and ya'll have it down pat."

Jack's face turned beat red as he nodded. "Thanks."

They split an hour later, Aster enthusiastic about working with Jack while Jack was beginning to feel the budding of a_ crush_ directed towards Aster. Jack scrambled into his car, taking in heavy breaths and trying to ignore how Aster made him feel.

* * *

Alright back to fixin' up Manny's and adding in a few more paragraphs of smut for Flowers of Hope chapter 2...I hate writing smut, takes me forever to do :/ edit Nov 30, fixed mistakes!

Responses:

**yey**: Pitch and Sandy will show up when Jack and Aster get to the 'tournament' thing (I can't think of the word right now) and they'll get some time with Jack and Aster later on.

**Shanatic**: You and I have too damn many in-jokes! Also here's moar.

**Jimbob Delilah**: More...and damnit I need to talk to you ya loon! I _really_ want to mess with that idea you gave me and I _really_want to fit it best for you :)

**Sticksandstones**: Oddly I do too...wish I had photoshop, I'd totally half ass that shit and make it happen.


	4. Chapter 4

Somebody requested this got an update, so here it is! Also **Mox**, I swear if you so much as say a word I will throw the kitchen sink at you.

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Chapter 4

A Constricting Situation

Aster blinked at the broken straight jacket two weeks later, turning to face Jack and cocking a curious brow. "How…did ya manage ta break a _straight_ jacket?"

Jack crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, a flush adorning those adorable cheeks of his. "I…tried to get out of it last night and ended up tripping, falling and catching one of the straps on the door handle. Apparently the stitching was getting loose or something because I not only took out a quarter of the straight jacket, as you see, but I needed to go buy a doorknob replacement for my door as well."

Aster blinked at Jack in disbelief before he threw his head back and laughed. Jack huffed next to him, snatching the torn straight jacket from his grasp and seething. Aster hunched, placing his hands on his knees and letting the laugh bellow from his diaphragm. He'd _never_ heard of something like that happening before. Didn't even see how it was possible! Yet, he had this undoubting knowledge that Jack could somehow manage to cause all of the destruction he'd just inflicted to two inanimate objects.

"A'right, a'right." Aster sucked in a sharp breath next to Jack and Jack glanced over to his chortling co-hort. "Where do we get another?"

Jack snorted. "We don't. I _barely_ afforded this one." Jack turned and held the straight jacket out, giving it a shake to straighten it out, his mood dipping as he realized one month's pay gathered up over three months was down the drain as his eyes looked at the sizeable tear in the jacket. "I don't have the time available at my job—or the money for that matter—to even think about buying another jacket."

"Ah'll buy it fer ya." Aster murmured from behind Jack. Jack glanced over his shoulder, surprised to find Aster's almost in his face as his warmth crowded into Jack's space, making him jump when he had glanced over his shoulder to refute the offer before he gasped at how close Aster was. Jack swallowed, turning his face quickly and hating that a blush had crawled its way up his cheeks. "Ya might not believe it, but as much of a shit job as a janitor is it actually pays really well."

Jack shook his head, rolling his eyes. "That's great and all, but I can't let you just _buy_ me something as expensive as this was."

"Nonsense." Aster corrected, grabbing up the straight jacket and tugging it towards himself inadvertently turning Jack to face him in the process when he had tugged on the straight jacket. He hadn't actually expected Jack to have a death grip on the jacket and found himself inches away from Jack's face and it took everything in his power to not close the distance between them and claim those lips. He wanted to know what Jack tasted like, but he also didn't want to ruin what ground he had already covered with the man in front of him. So his gaze wavered along those thin lips before he shot his eyes to Jack's baby blues. "Just chalk it up ta a business expense. Ya can pay me back fer it when ya hit it big."

"What if I don't hit it big though?" Jack whispered as his body began quaking—his mind screaming at him to put distance between them while his body was shivering with the need to resist throwing his arms around Aster's shoulders and testing to see if Aster really _was_ as interested as he was letting on—and it _wasn't_ subtle in the least either.

"C'mon, mate." Aster straightened and Jack sighed, relived that he didn't have to make the move this time as their _ridiculous_ game of cat and mouse continued. "Have a little hope. Don't insult me by implyin' that Ah don't know talent when Ah see it. Now c'mon, let's go ta the cyber café down the street, grab a cuppa and then ya can show me where ya got the straight jacket."

"Actually!" Jack's pulse picked up and embarrassment set in again. He rushed forward and grabbed the straight jacket; tugging Aster to a halt and making him turn with an irritated look to his eyes. "Actually I'd rather…well I mean…the place I bought it from—it isn't a _proper_ website for a cyber café."

Aster, thoroughly intrigued now, raised a brow. "Got any qualms about comin' with me ta mah place then? If ya want privacy that is fer purchasin' it? We can cut practice short today seeing as one of our main features is currently broke, have ourselves a cuppa and follow that up with a dinner? Mah treat."

"Well…I mean…uh…" Jack gulped, watching Aster's gorgeous green eyes and hesitantly nodding when hurt began to filter into those green depths. He expelled a chest full of air and sighed. "Alright, fine."

"Ace!" Aster cheered, escorting Jack to his Jeep and starting it shortly after they were both buckled in.

Jack leaned on the armrest and gazed out the window. It'd been a shaky two weeks between them. Jack could feel that he was improving without a doubt, especially with Aster's constant encouragement and even when Aster was irate and berating him when he messed something up. Aster was…coach-like in his behavior when business was at hand. It was where Jack noticed that he and Aster tended to frequently butt heads—and both of them raised their voices to yell over the other. On the other hand when they weren't working things got almost unbearable awkward for Jack. He had _no_ idea what he was dealing with when it came to Aster. He knew Aster was gay, knew Aster was attracted to him…but he just didn't know what he was going to do about that.

Jack had to admit that he was, without a doubt, enthralled with Aster. His voice, accent included, sent goose bumps across his skin. He was a _hunk_ with his broad shoulders and muscles, not to mention those _gorgeous_ tribal tattoos that adorned his biceps, forearms, along his back and thighs down to his calves.

Jack wasn't going to admit it, but when Tooth had dragged Aster into the garage the other day to measure him Jack _might_ have peeked—and he regretted it. Aster was tall, tanned, muscular and—at least to him—seemed like he was sculpted from marble. He was everything Jack had wanted to be before he realized he wasn't growing past sixth grade and had peeked at five foot eight with his twig-like figure. He wouldn't admit to how tight his pants had got after viewing Aster in nothing more than his boxer briefs, nor would he admit that he _had_ looked directly at the man's crotch.

Jack gulped in a breath of air, flushing again with the memory and crossing his legs in an attempt to keep himself from getting anymore aroused. He'd also come to realize that Aster, as gruff and snarky as he could sound, was actually a really nice guy at heart. Short tempered and prone to bouts of bullheaded induced stupidity at times, but he was a good guy at heart—something that Jack had always found worthwhile in a person. Jack let out a breath, scratching his head and glancing over to Aster who shifted gears and returned the glance.

Aster had sent a sideways glance over to Jack when he had heard the sigh and watched as another blush crossed Jack's cheeks. As he drove he found himself frequently glancing towards Jack, noticing his posture had stiffened and he had crossed his legs. All of this was followed shortly thereafter by Jack tugging at the hem of his hoodie jacket before he just yanked his feet up onto the edge of the seat and buried his head onto them. Aster shook his head, curious to know what that behavior had been before he pulled up into his driveway and escorted Jack into his apartment.

Aster opened the door, glancing over to his rabbit Hope who immediately set away to chewing on her cage in an attempt to get him to open up the cage's door so that she could have free roam of the apartment. He watched as Jack's eyes zeroed in on the rabbit, a smirk adorning his face as he glanced over to Aster.

"A rabbit?" He asked, chuckling.

"Yes, Ah rabbit." Aster griped, crossing his arms. "They're great bloody pets, especially since Ah can't stand dogs and cats never seem ta like me—Ah also can't have either of the two anyway."

Jack tilted his head. "She's pretty. What's her name?"

Aster stepped into his apartment, going to the kitchen to start warming the water for the tea as he replied, "Hope. Ah named her Hope, and she's a Harlequin."

"Harlequin?" Jack asked, going over to the cage. Aster watched as Hope immediately set away to giving Jack her big brown eyes, practically begging to be let out of the cage. "Why is the breed called a Harlequin?"

Aster stepped over to the cage, placing a light hand on Jack's back to move him aside so that he could kneel down and open the cage. "A'right ya hellion Ah'm openin' the door, relax." Aster barked at the undettered rabbit, popping the door open and then watching as she bolted out to start running laps around the great room of his apartment. "She's a Harlequin because if ya look at her pattern and colorings, it looks like she's wearin' a mask."

It was here that Jack tilted his head and looked, admiring Hope and kneeling down when she sniffed at his feet after running a few laps. He grinned, petting her with enthusiasm and hearing Aster huff behind him.

"Bloody ass kisser." Aster murmured behind him before stepping past. "If ya want ya can give 'er a piece of banana. It's what she wants. Ah'm afraid Ah've spoiled her mercilessly."

Jack laughed hearing that, sending a tease after Aster as he leaned forward at what looked to be his desk and began turning it on. Jack was frozen a moment, enthralled with Aster's profile before he shook his head when Aster turned his head his way and blinked those gorgeous green eyes of his towards him with a brow raised. Jack distracted himself with letting his eyes roam the apartment as he grabbed up a banana from the island counter that held stools to it. He felt the rabbit tug at his pants leg and he chuckled.

"How much do I give her?" He asked, opening the banana and watching the rabbit sit up onto her hind legs.

"Just a small portion mate. It's not exactly the best fer 'em." Aster replied, followed by the clicking of keys.

Jack handed the rabbit a small bite of his banana, chuckling when she set away to avidly chewing it and making squishing noises in the process. He then set away to pacing through the small loft apartment.

He stepped forward about twelve feet and found himself in what looked like a living room with a flat screen that, surprisingly, looked affordable. He found himself kneeling next to the small case of movies, thumbing through them and surprised to see rows of classics followed by Sci-Fi and ending with a few season DVDs. Jack thumbed the Breaking Bad DVDs, rolling his eyes in the process. He straightened, giving Hope the last bit of his banana because she had apparently tracked him all the way to the living room, looking around at the furniture and noticing that it all looked fairly inexpensive as well.

Really the only _expensive_ thing in the room was the corner that held a mess of paints, paintbrushes, an easel and a covered canvas. Jack turned from that, curious to know what was under the cloth but unwilling to pry. He stepped back out into the entry that held the kitchen and then glanced up the stairs, seeing Aster's form up there over the half wall as he paced about and then tugged off his work shirt. Jack's eyes widened and he choked on the air he had taken in, watching every tantalizing muscle on Aster's body move and ripple in ways that he was _sure_ had caused a few men to be jealous of.

He shook his head, pacing beyond the stairs that led to Aster's bedroom and going over to the computer, taking a seat and throwing a yell over his shoulder as he asked, "Mind if I load the website?"

"Go 'head!" Aster shouted back. "Ah'll be down in just a minute!"

Aster found himself glancing around is bedroom, petting Hope when she bounded up onto his bed and then flopped on it before she got up and bolted back to the stairs, undoubtedly to go bother Jack again. He shook his head at her antics before he settled on just pulling on a clean crew neck shirt and adding a light dosing of cologne to cover his lack of shower—hearing the pot whistle downstairs.

He took the stairs quickly, stepping up behind Jack and feeling his eyes widen in disbelief.

Aster stared at the website Jack had gone too. He blinked again in utter disbelief at the website before he snorted out a quick laugh, followed by him choking on air as Jack's form tensed in front of him. He tried not to let another laugh out before he snickered again, followed shortly by him outright laughing again. He sniggered into his hand and glanced to Jack who, after a good long time of laughing, sent him a withering expression as he scrolled down the website to the straight jacket section. Aster lurched forward seeing something he just _knew_ was going to bring that adorable blush to Jack's cheeks, tapping his finger on the screen and glancing to Jack.

"Maybe ya should get yer prick pierced." Aster suggested with a nudge to Jack's side. "Abracadabra, mah voice is higher."

Jack, though he did blush, snorted out a laugh before he rolled his eyes. "I had no idea you could even crack a joke that immature."

"Oi, mate, Ah'm perfectly capable of makin' a bloody joke." Aster shot back with a fake warning to his tone before a smirk broke across his face. "Now c'mon, hurry up and get ta the straight jackets. Ah don't need ta see anymore sharp pointy objects that go near mah googies."

Jack barked out a laugh again as he scrolled down followed shortly by him showing Aster a wide array of straight jackets—the whistling of the tea kettle behind them forgotten. Both of them sobered from the hilarity at the expense of the website in order to make the right choice on which one Jack should get. Aster eventually broke down and took the kettle off the stove as he discussed the options of each Jack in great detail with Jack. They spent a good twenty minutes debating the purchase before Aster insisted that Jack get the pricey one that looked a tad sturdier than the others. It was here that Jack handed the computer over to Aster who set away to typing in his information, buying the item and making Jack balk when he clicked express shipping—which bumped the price up another twenty dollars.

"Aster! We don't need to spend another twenty bucks on shipping! That jacket is already a hundred and fifty, which is about eighty more than I initially paid for the old one!" Jack argued, irritated that Aster bought that one—_great_ quality or not.

"Don't be a knocker Frostbite." Aster murmured, hitting the checkout button once again and placing his hands on the back of his head as they order went through. "The faster we get it 'ere the faster we can get back ta practicin'." Jack huffed at Aster's nonchalant attitude, but Aster rolled his eyes. "Listen, mate, Ah told ya not ta fret over it. Ya can pay me back later—or ya can let me take ya out on a date."

Jack's eyes widened in disbelief, then he choked on the inhale of air he had taken in to argue with Aster yet again before his eyes went wide and he glanced to Aster. Aster quirked sad, light, smile towards Jack and pushed up from the chair, giving his shoulder a light clapping as he headed past to the kitchen again.

"Ah'm kiddin'." Aster gently released Jack's shoulder, and decided not to press his luck any further when it came to Jack. He was _already_ causing the kid turmoil by his frequent come ons and flirtatious behavior when off the 'Magicians' version of a work day, he didn't need to push Jack any further—not to mention they were technically co-workers and those relationships tended to never work, as attracted to Jack as he _was_. "C'mon, ya can help me skin some potatoes fer dinner tonight."

Jack nodded his answer to that simple request, watching as Aster walked towards his kitchen—dodging Hope in the process as she bolted between his legs like she had done it a million times before—staring at the center of his broad shoulders and nearly salivating at the way the shirt clung to them.

Was he crazy for wanting to take Aster up on his offer for a date? Especially when he hadn't been on one for three years, and what better person to break that dry spell with than Aster? Jack chewed on his lower lip, sidling up next to Aster and glancing up to him as he handed him a peeler and a potato. A few minutes passed, Jack feeling his anxiety spike before he decided he'd had enough of being a solo act in more ways than one.

"So…where are we going for that date?" Jack asked, smirking towards Aster who had halted his peeling before sending Jack a quick grin.

"What haven't ya done in awhile that ya really enjoyed?" Aster asked him, setting away to peeling the potato he held.

Jack shrugged. "I haven't done a _lot_ of things that I really enjoy in awhile." He admitted with a sour expression crossing his face. "I use to _love_ movies—the _full_ shebang too. Popcorn, drinks, candy—sometimes I'd get a icee sometimes I wouldn't. Then there was go karts, I actually think window shopping is sorta fun if the company is right, then there's building snowmen in the winter…" Jack tilted his head, adding in a shrug. "'Course I've always been a fan of nights in as well. Those can be fun as well."

Jack caught the glint to Aster's eye, smirking and shrugging towards him.

"Well then, looks like Ah've got a date ta plan then." Aster replied, nudging Jack's side.

Jack chuckled, marveling at how good Aster looked with a smile on his face. Jack focused back on the potato, feeling giddy inside.

* * *

Responses

**yay: **Pitch and Sandy are coming at the event thingy-a-bob. I need to stop updating at 3am my vocab is shot.

**Sticksandstones: **I actually went through it in the morning and fixed a lot of the previous Chapter grammar wise. I messed up a lot of things :/

**Shanatic: **Why do you want to eat my story D: Almost as strange as me wanting to touch your stories hahaha.

**Lady Minuialwen: **:)

**Mox: **Yea, our little interaction there influenced this.

**grayember13: **Eeep I'm sorry it's so cute! XD


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